Author: Arjun

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: There is a proposed policy that is wildly popular, would help millions of everyday Americans, and Mitch McConnell is already out of the gates opposing it.  McConnell is back at it again, already announcing his opposition to President Biden’s plan to invest in infrastructure.

Americans overwhelmingly support making improvements to the nation’s infrastructure by raising taxes on the rich and corporations.

Politico: “By a 2-to-1 margin, registered voters backed a hypothetical $3 trillion infrastructure package financed by tax increases on those making over $400,000 as well as raising the corporate tax rate. And 47% said they would be more likely to support an infrastructure plan if it were paid for by raising the corporate tax rate, vs. 21% who said they’d be less likely to support it and 31% who said that wouldn’t affect their thinking.”

After they “blundered” their messaging opposing the popular American Rescue Plan, McConnell and Republicans are running the same hypocritical playbook.

Daily Beast: “Still, Republican strategists warned that GOP lawmakers could fall into a trap by just raging against the overall price tag. Voters seem less outraged by big numbers after both parties passed trillions in relief during the COVID crisis. And, as Cooper said, Republicans lost a good bit of messaging leverage on spending during the Trump administration.”

The American Jobs Plan will invest billions of dollars to fix our roads, rebuild bridges, and get high-speed internet to rural communities across the country.

CNBC: The proposal would:

• Put $621 billion into transportation infrastructure such as bridges, roads, public transit, ports, airports and electric vehicle development
• Direct $400 billion to care for elderly and disabled Americans
• Inject more than $300 billion into improving drinking-water infrastructure, expanding broadband access and upgrading electric grids
• Put more than $300 billion into building and retrofitting affordable housing, along with constructing and upgrading schools
• Invest $580 billion in American manufacturing, research and development and job training efforts

The post BREAKING: McConnell Leads Opposition to Really Popular Legislation (Again) appeared first on Democrats.

“Cawthorn is hardly the only Republican to try having it both ways on the relief package, which the GOP slammed in Washington but has found to be popular back home.”

Yesterday, Representative Madison Cawthorn joined the growing group of congressional Republicans touting how the American Rescue Plan is delivering for their constituents. The only problem? He, along with all other Republicans in Congress, voted against the popular package, which is enjoying bipartisan majority support all over the country.

Here’s a look at what they’re saying about Rep. Hawthorn’s hypocrisy:

HuffPost: GOP Congressman ‘Happy’ To Tout COVID-19 Stimulus Funds That He Voted Against

By Amanda Terkel and Igor Bobic

3/30/21

“Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) sent out a tweet Tuesday touting some funds that community health centers in his district will be receiving ― even though he voted against the legislation that made the money possible.

[…]

“‘You can’t have your cake and vote against it, too,’ North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Bobbie Richardson said. ‘That’s exactly what Rep. Cawthorn is doing by shamelessly taking credit for a bill that he tirelessly attacked and voted against. The American Rescue Plan secured critical funding for North Carolina’s health centers and Madison Cawthorn had absolutely nothing to do with it.’”

Washington Post: Democrats blast GOP’s Cawthorn as hypocrite after he touts coronavirus relief grants he didn’t vote for

By Amy B Wang

3/30/21

“One detail the freshman lawmaker did not mention, however, was that all of these grants were the result of President Biden’s coronavirus relief package, which received no Republican support. Cawthorn skipped the vote on the bill so he could attend a conservative conference in Florida. A proxy voted no on the bill on his behalf.”

Forbes: GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn Touts Funds From Relief Bill He Voted Against

By Andrew Solender

3/30/21

“Cawthorn is trying to take credit for the grants HE VOTED AGAINST,” tweeted Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison, declaring, “Republicans have no shame.”

Daily Beast: Madison Cawthorn Suddenly Loves the Stimulus Bill He Voted Against

By Sam Brodey

3/30/21

“Cawthorn is hardly the only Republican to try having it both ways on the relief package, which the GOP slammed in Washington but has found to be popular back home. Shortly after it passed, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) praised a provision to aid struggling restaurants, and multiple GOP lawmakers have devoted time and resources to helping constituents access the new round of stimulus checks that they voted against sending out.”

WLOS-Asheville: Congressman Madison Cawthorn hypes COVID relief funds he voted against

3/30/21

“DNC Chair Jaime Harrison also took aim at Cawthorn’s tweets.

“‘You really have to marvel at the audacity of Republicans in Congress. Representative Cawthorn is unashamedly touting the benefits of the American Rescue Plan after voting against sending that same relief to his own constituents,’ Harrison said in a news release.”

Cardinal & Pine: NC’s Madison Cawthorn Skipped Vote But “Happy” COVID Relief Funds Going to his WNC District

By Sarah Ovaska

3/30/21

“A freshman Congressman from Western North Carolina is bragging about federal money that came to health centers in his district.

“Problem is, US Rep. Madison Cawthorn skipped the vote for the COVID relief bill that made it happen.

“The official account for Cawthorn, the 25-year-old Republican from Hendersonville, tweeted Tuesday afternoon that he was ‘happy’ to see needed money go to four health clinics in his district that help vulnerable residents. Not only that, he was ‘Proud to see tax-payer dollars returned to NC-11.’”

The post After Voting Against the American Rescue Plan, Representative Madison Cawthorn Gets Called Out For Touting Its Benefits appeared first on Democrats.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison released the following statement after Republican Representative Madison Cawthorn touted COVID relief his North Carolina district received as part of the American Rescue Plan:

“You really have to marvel at the audacity of Republicans in Congress. Representative Cawthorn is unashamedly touting the benefits of the American Rescue Plan after voting against sending that same relief to his own constituents.

“It’s a great thing that help is here for North Carolinians and families across the country thanks to the hard work of Democrats in Congress and President Biden’s leadership. But if Rep. Cawthorn had his way, his constituents in North Carolina wouldn’t be seeing any of these grants to boost their health centers and get more people vaccinated — or any of the American Rescue Plan’s other benefits, like direct checks and help for small businesses.

“While Republicans might think that they can fool their constituents, Americans won’t fall for their lies. We’ll continue to make sure that when Representative Cawthorn and his colleagues try to take credit for President Biden and Democrats’ leadership, every single American knows they not only had absolutely nothing to do with it, but tried to stop it.”

The post DNC on Rep. Cawthorn Touting Benefits of the American Rescue Plan appeared first on Democrats.

200 million vaccinations in 100 days. 90% of American adults will be eligible for vaccination by April 19. Averaging nearly 3 million vaccinations a day. In a new poll, more and more Americans approve of the job President Biden is doing to tackle the number one issue facing the country.

Since January, approval of the country’s vaccine rollout has doubled, from 34% to 68% approval, including 66% approval among Republicans.

Gallup: “Satisfaction with the COVID-19 vaccine process has doubled since January and is now at the majority-level among all major demographic subgroups. It is particularly high among adults aged 65 and older (77%), a group that has been prioritized for vaccines, those who have received at least one vaccine dose (75%) and Democrats (73%), whose satisfaction has more than tripled since President Joe Biden took office.”

After setting daily vaccination records, President Biden is still increasing access to vaccines, and soon nearly every American adult will be eligible to receive one.

CBS News: “Biden says 90% of all U.S. adults will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine by April 19”

CBS News: “To help more Americans access the vaccine, Mr. Biden said he is directing his COVID team to locate vaccination sites within 5 miles of 90% of all Americans. The White House is expanding the number of pharmacies that can administer the vaccine, and by April 19, there will be 12 more federally run vaccination sites.”

CNN: “The President also said in the next three weeks his administration would stand up 12 more federally run mass vaccination sites. Andy Slavitt, a senior White House Covid-19 response adviser, announced earlier Monday that two new sites would be opening in Gary, Indiana, and St. Louis. The administration will also establish a new transportation program in partnership with community organizations to get at-risk seniors and people with disabilities access to the vaccines.”

As it becomes easier to get a vaccine, more Americans are willing to get one, bringing the country closer to normalcy.

Gallup: “With more than a million Americans receiving COVID-19 vaccines every day, the public’s overall willingness to be inoculated against the disease has edged up three points. This continues the upward trajectory to a new high of 74% since hitting a low of 50% in September.”

Wall Street Journal: “A shrinking percentage of Americans are expressing reluctance to get a Covid-19 vaccine, a positive sign for the efforts to get shots in the arms of enough people to reach herd immunity… The survey found about 17% of adults said they would either definitely or probably not get vaccinated, down from 22% in January. The decline was almost entirely due to fewer respondents saying they probably won’t get the shot; the share saying they definitely won’t has remained essentially unchanged in the past two months.”

The post HELP IS HERE: America Really Likes Biden Delivering Vaccines appeared first on Democrats.

A new poll released this weekend continues to show that the overwhelming majority of Americans approve of President Biden’s coronavirus response and his handling of the economic recovery. It’s clear why: Over the weekend, the U.S. administered over 3 million vaccines for three straight days and shattered the previous daily record on Friday. Already over 50 million Americans are fully vaccinated.

An overwhelming majority of Americans approve of how President Biden is handling the pandemic.

ABC News: “The president’s approval lands at 72% for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, numerically higher than the 68% of Americans who said the same earlier this month just before Congress passed his $1.9 trillion relief package, his first major legislative achievement … A significant slice of the country also backs how Biden is handling distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, with 3 in 4 Americans approving.”

ABC News: “A clear majority of Americans (60%) also approve of Biden’s stewardship on repairing the beleaguered economy, which continues to be hobbled by the coronavirus.”

CNN: “President Joe Biden’s approval hasn’t moved in two months. He had an average 55% approval rating at the beginning of his presidency. Two months later, Biden’s approval rating stands at 54%. That’s less movement than even former President Donald Trump had during his first few months on the job, and opinion on Trump was notoriously stagnant. Biden’s secret to success is simple: he’s addressing the issues Americans care about, while his weaker issues are those that most Americans don’t seem as worried about.”

The U.S. shattered the previous daily record of vaccines administered, breaking 3 million doses on consecutive days for only the fourth time.

CNN: “A new daily record for administering Covid-19 vaccines was set Friday, but many experts reiterate that the pandemic is far from over. The total number of doses administered jumped by about 3.38 million, according to a tweet from White House Covid-19 Data Director Dr. Cyrus Shahpar. This is the fourth time the number of doses administered has jumped more than 3 million on consecutive days. The previous one-day record was just over 3.2 million doses, on March 13.”

This comes on the heels of President Biden getting 100 million vaccine doses in arms weeks ahead of schedule and setting a new goal of 200 million shots in arms in his first 100 days in office.

CNBC: “President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a new goal of having 200 million Covid vaccination shots being distributed within his first 100 days in office.”

Axios: “President Biden on Thursday announced a new COVID-19 vaccine goal at his first press conference since taking office: 200 million shots administered within his first 100 days. Why it matters … At the current 7-day average of about 2.5 million doses administered per day, the U.S. would reach 200 million shots in the days leading up to Biden’s 100th day in office: April 30.”

The post HELP IS HERE: Vast Majority of Americans Approve of Biden’s COVID-19 Response as U.S. Sets New Daily Vaccine Records appeared first on Democrats.

In interviews last night on MSNBC’s American Voices with Alicia Menendez and this morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison spoke out against the Republican Party’s assault on voting rights and highlighted how the Democratic Party is going to do everything in its power to fight back.

WATCH HERE: CHAIR HARRISON ON MORNING JOE

Chair Harrison: “We’re going to do everything we possibly can within our power to fight back against these laws. … What Georgia has done in this bill is in essence said to a group of folks in Georgia that you don’t matter and you don’t count.”

WATCH HERE: CHAIR HARRISON ON AMERICAN VOICES

Chair Harrison: “We are going to do every single thing in our power to fight back against these laws. … Republicans [are] trying to usher in Jim Crow 2.0 with these laws to restrict the right to vote, and particularly for those folks [who are] people of color. … What you’re going to see from this DNC is every breath in my body, every drop of blood that flows through my veins, I am going to do what we need to do to fight back against these efforts. From the courts to Congress, we’re going to do everything possible to make sure every person in this country gets the opportunity to have their voices heard.” 

The post WATCH: DNC Chair Harrison Speaks Out Against Republican Assault On Voting Rights On MSNBC appeared first on Democrats.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison issued the following statement on the passage of Georgia’s sweeping voter suppression law, SB 202: 

“These efforts by Republicans, in Georgia and across the country, to suppress the vote are a threat to our sacred right as Americans to lift our voices and participate in our democracy. These laws echo a dark chapter of Georgia’s history – but make no mistake, we will not go back. 

“This isn’t just happening in Georgia. There are today over 250 voter suppression bills proposed in state legislatures across the country, making this a concerted Republican effort to disenfranchise voters across the country. There’s no other way to describe it, this is Jim Crow 2.0, plain and simple. 

Republican state officials in Georgia and experts across the country have repeatedly made it clear there’s no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the last election, yet they’re hellbent on finding ways to ensure the Georgians who turned out in record numbers to vote for Biden and Democrats find it harder to do so again. 

“As Democrats, we will not stop fighting to protect the right to vote. We will keep working tirelessly to pass H.R. 1, S. 1, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, as well as continue to use every tool in our toolbox to fight these Republican efforts to suppress or restrict voting in our country.”

The post DNC on Georgia’s Voter Suppression Law appeared first on Democrats.

President Biden is focused on getting Americans vaccinated and putting the country on the road to recovery from the pandemic and economic challenges, coverage of his press conference from across the country showed. Having already surpassed his initial goal of 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 days of his presidency, President Biden yesterday announced he is doubling the target to 200 million vaccinations in the first 100 days, while working to build back better with the American Rescue Plan and forthcoming economic plans.

Take a look at how some front pages across the country covered President Biden’s news conference:

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR):

Macon Telegraph (Macon, GA): 

Tampa Bay Times (Tampa Bay, FL): 

 

Lake County News-Sun (Lake County, IL):

Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME):

Toledo Blade (Toledo, OH): 

The Olympian (Olympia, WA): 

The post WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: Front Pages Nationwide Highlight President Biden’s New Vaccine Goal and Legislative Efforts appeared first on Democrats.

In a desperate attempt to mislead the country, world-renowned political clown Ted Cruz and his hapless sidekick John Cornyn are bringing their show on the road with their latest political stunt.

New reports revealed that Trump administration officials “were sitting on their hands” and refused to heed calls from Biden transition officials to increase capacity for child migrants. This week, President Joe Biden took several steps to repair the broken system he inherited, announcing he would restore millions in funding to address root causes of Central American migration, as well as appointing Vice President Harris to lead efforts to address migration.

“If there’s one thing Ted Cruz knows how to do, it is to disingenuously grandstand for TV cameras. President Biden took more action to address immigration issues in one day than Senate Republicans have in the last four years. If Senator Cruz and his colleagues were serious, they’d be in Washington working with President Biden to be a part of the solution.” – DNC spokesperson Eduardo Silva

As a reminder, here are the facts about what’s happening on the border.

THE TRUTH: There is no migrant “surge” due to Biden administration policies

Washington Post: “We analyzed monthly CBP data from 2012 to now and found no crisis or surge that can be attributed to Biden administration policies. Rather, the current increase in apprehensions fits a predictable pattern of seasonal changes in undocumented immigration combined with a backlog of demand because of 2020’s coronavirus border closure.”

Washington Post: “In other words, in fiscal year 2021, it appears that migrants are continuing to enter the United States in the same numbers as in fiscal year 2019 — plus the pent-up demand from people who would have come in fiscal year 2020, but for the pandemic.”

THE TRUTH: President Biden is working to repair the damage Trump caused to our immigration system.

CNN: “‘I can say quite clearly: Don’t come,’ Biden told ABC in an interview aired on Tuesday. The President continued: ‘We’re in the process of getting set up, don’t leave your town or city or community.’”

Council on Foreign Relations: “Still, the administration has inherited a migration system in crisis. The institutional capacity of immigration courts and other parts of the bureaucracy to humanely manage caseloads has eroded. It will take time and money to clear the backload of more than 1.2 million pending immigration cases and put back into place working asylum processes. The pandemic has made managing these flows and the containment of people all the harder.”

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: “Trumpists will claim this supposed Biden permissiveness is drawing more migrants relative to last year to make the trek. But Wendy Young, the president of Kids in Need of Defense, told me it’s far more complex than this.  Migration was suppressed last year during the pandemic, and arrivals are now rising due to many factors in Central America.”

THE TRUTH: For the past year, the border has been restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Washington Post: “But many of those who live along the border in Texas say that while there has been a dramatic increase in the number of migrants caught crossing illegally, the border itself has been heavily restricted for nearly a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.”

THE TRUTH: The Biden administration has been requiring COVID tests and working to protect the American public. 

Houston Chronicle: “A negative coronavirus test is required by the federal government before entry to the U.S. While U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducts screenings, ‘suspected COVID-19 cases are referred to local health systems for appropriate testing, diagnosis, and treatment,’ the agency said in a statement.”

CNN: “Texas Gov. Abbott Stalled Federal Offer To Test Migrants Then Blamed Them For Spreading Covid.”

Austin American-Statesman: “Gov. Greg Abbott ends statewide mask mandate, moves to ‘open Texas 100%’ — actions at odds with health experts, federal officials”

THE TRUTH: Many of the migrant children at the border came during the Trump administration.

Jennifer Podkul, Vice President of Kids in Need of Defense: “[T]hese aren’t brand new cases of people setting out for the U.S…. These are kids who’ve been waiting at the border, in some cases for more than a year.”

The post Ted Cruz Brings His Political Stunts to the Border appeared first on Democrats.

In truly stunning fashion, the DC press corps could not muster a single question to ask President Biden in his press conference about the COVID-19 pandemic that has raged for over a year and is a top concern for the American people.

Politico: “During the first news conference of his presidency, Joe Biden was never asked about the defining crisis of this generation and, in all likelihood, his time in office. Over the course of 62 minutes on Thursday, the Covid-19 pandemic never arose, except for in the president’s remarks at the start of the event, touting the accomplishments his administration has made in the U.S.’s yearlong fight.”

65 days ago, conventional wisdom was that the “defining challenge” for the Biden administration would be how he handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

NBC News: “Nothing he will say in his inaugural address and no executive order he will issue in his first days will be more important than achieving his goal of injecting 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days as president.”

Associated Press: “For Biden, beating back the pandemic is a defining challenge of his presidency, testing his central promise to the American people that he can better manage the outbreak than his predecessor.”

The post DC Press Corps Left Speechless By Biden COVID Response appeared first on Democrats.